With more than 30 years’ experience in the residential and commercial water treatment space, Mark Nelson is a Class 1 Drinking-Water Operator and a CBWA (Canadian Bottled Water Association) Certified Plant Operator. As founder and president of Nelson Water in Ottawa, Mark focuses on dealing with challenging water treatment system designs for problem water. He also heads the largest water bottling plant in the city of Ottawa with a delivery network throughout the Valley.

If you’re in the market for a water filter, there are many places that you can buy one. A home improvement store or online shopping should get you the model that you want. But, how will you know if that filter is efficient or even effective at filtering your water supply? There are many contaminants present in our water that cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled. So, it makes sense to purchase a water filter that will perform as you expect, and this is why certification from a trust third party is essential. If you want to purchase a water filter that will work efficiently, get a certified model from a trusted local water treatment specialist. Let’s take a closer look at water filters to help you make an informed purchasing decision.

Which Third Party Organizations?

In this article, we will be looking at the three major independent organizations that test and certify water treatment products in the U.S. They are the Water Quality Association (WQA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the International Association of Plumbing and Manufacturing Officials (IAPMO). These three groups test water filtration products to a rigorous standard to ensure that they remove the contaminants that the manufacturer says they can remove. Over the years, manufacturers have relied on these independent testing to improve their products and earn the coveted certifications.

Is Your Water Safe and Healthy?

Water treatment is difficult. There are many types of water quality issues that you may have in your home. Perhaps you have hard water that contains high levels of calcium, magnesium, and even iron that can make your life harder with limescale and staining issues. Maybe you have a “swimming pool” taste or odor because your home is closer to the water treatment plant, and your water contains more chlorine or chloramine? Whatever the issue, there is a water treatment solution to fix the problem.

Even if your water comes from a municipal source, it can still contain primary contaminants. Although city water is cleaned to a basic standard, contaminants can enter the water supply at any point in the pipe delivery network due to a break. Another problem is that many water treatment plants don’t remove secondary contaminants. If your water comes from a well, you are responsible for the health and safety of your water. For this reason, it’s important to get your water tested regularly and install appropriate treatment systems.

What are Primary Contaminants?

These are contaminants that are deemed to be a threat to our health. Waterborne pollution has increased significantly over the last few decades to an increase in the population and a lack of investment in water infrastructure. Some typical primary contaminants include lead, arsenic, pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceutical byproducts, PFOS, arsenic, bacteria, pathogens, cysts, and more. Many primary contaminants cannot be detected without laboratory testing, which makes them very dangerous.

What are Secondary Contaminants?

There are also secondary contaminants that are not known to have a harmful effect on our health. No limits or regulations are in place for these types of contaminants, but they can be annoying or make the water unpalatable. Some prime examples would be hard water, iron rich water, high chlorine levels, and others.

The Importance of Water Filter Certification

As you can see, it’s important to get a water filter that you can trust, and this is why third party certification from an independent organization is so important. But, what types of certification should you look for when you want to purchase a water filter? The three organizations that we mentioned above: the WQA, the NSF and the IAPMO, all have their own filtration certifications. Let’s take a closer look at what they mean for you as a consumer.

WQA Certification

The WQA has a program to test and certify products to ensure that they reach industry standards. This includes the “Gold Seal Product Certification Program” that manufacturers that meet the rigorous standard can display on the product packaging. The WQA is also involved in the annual auditing of the facilities where these products are made. The WQA certification can be applied to a wide array of standards, including the NSF/ANSI standards that we will cover below. But, the WQA also has its own certification standards in place, they are:

  1. WQA S-100: This covers home, commercial and portable cation exchange water softeners.
  2. WQA S-200: Home and commercial water filters.
  3. WQA S-300: Point-of-use Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration systems.
  4. WQA S-400: Point-of-use distillation water systems.

The NSF/ANSI Standards

The NSF has been testing products since the 40s. For their water filtration certification, they use standards that were set in place by the American National Standard Institute (ANSI), they are:

  1. NSF/ANSI 42 Aesthetic Effects: This covers how the water filter affects the taste, odor, and appearance of the drinking water. This includes the removal of chlorine and chloramine, total dissolved solids (TDS) other secondary contaminants.
  2. NSF/ANSI 44 Water Softeners: This standard is used to evaluate the performance of water softeners to ensure that they reduce hardness, the brine system accuracy and how they affect the water pressure.
  3. NSF/ANSI 53 Health Effects: This covers water filters that remove harmful primary contaminants, such as lead, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), bacteria, heavy metals, and others.
  4. NSF/ANSI 58 Reverse Osmosis (RO): This standard covers the performance and efficiency of RO systems. This also covers the recovery rating, which relates to the volume of filtered water versus the wastewater expressed as a percentage.
  5. NSF/ANSI 401 Emerging Compounds and Incidental Contaminants: This standard relates to 15 pollutants that are not currently considered to be primary contaminants yet. This includes pesticides, herbicides, and some over the counter medications that can enter the water supply.

IAPMO Certification

These are standards set for plumbing products. They are recognized by ANSI and considered to be a legitimate Standards Development Organization or (SDO). The IAPMO has a dedicated laboratory that conducts product testing on many water filter products to a number of standards, including WQA, NSF/ANSI, and others. The IAMPO certification must be renewed every three years, which ensures that the product testing is accurate.

If you want to purchase a certified water filter, visit your local water treatment specialist for expert help and advice.